tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808375493800890797.post6717972193118828841..comments2016-12-05T23:49:06.333-05:00Comments on A Concord Pastor Comments: The year of Saint PaulConcord Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18322127779647130869noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808375493800890797.post-26066233810085379522008-06-28T14:27:00.000-04:002008-06-28T14:27:00.000-04:00I love reading Paul's letters. Often they seem to ...I love reading Paul's letters. Often they seem to have been written to us and our modern world.<BR/> This is one of my favorite quotes about Christian unity:<BR/>"Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ... making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, ... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all" (Ephesians 4:1-4).<BR/><BR/>Just one more comment on the painting if i could....<BR/>I see a reference to Galatians.<BR/>Paul is discarding his robe to be clothed in Christ.<BR/>"In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." <BR/>AnneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808375493800890797.post-33167518972163474862008-06-27T22:55:00.000-04:002008-06-27T22:55:00.000-04:00OK! We're far, far away from the purpose of this ...OK! We're far, far away from the purpose of this post. Got something to say about the Pauline Year? Go for it! Enough about the painting, already!ConcordPastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18322127779647130869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808375493800890797.post-9503603249247120812008-06-27T20:33:00.000-04:002008-06-27T20:33:00.000-04:00Too bad for you, you barely noticed!!In my eyes, y...Too bad for you, you barely noticed!!<BR/><BR/>In my eyes, you may be the one who is puritanical. The sight of St. Paul on the horse ... without anything on .. is beautiful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808375493800890797.post-33817233635032108502008-06-27T19:06:00.000-04:002008-06-27T19:06:00.000-04:00No, not puritanical in the least. Just someone no...No, not puritanical in the least. Just someone noticing a very good looking St. Paul. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808375493800890797.post-47773861374239498752008-06-27T13:06:00.000-04:002008-06-27T13:06:00.000-04:00Do I detect a New England puritanical streak with ...Do I detect a New England puritanical streak with regard to St. Paul on the horse?! I barely (no pun intended) noticed, as I had thought St. Paul was not knocked off a horse contrary to this widely held belief.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808375493800890797.post-12767741947968680262008-06-27T10:14:00.000-04:002008-06-27T10:14:00.000-04:00Concord Pastor, I agree with your observations. A...Concord Pastor, I agree with your observations. Another observation is that the image shows Saul as half naked. You can see that his cloak is covering half his body but looks like it is coming off of him. The important thing is that it is coming off of him and he is not covering up before God.Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808375493800890797.post-48812225918755079492008-06-26T23:31:00.000-04:002008-06-26T23:31:00.000-04:00The only person who could truly answer the questio...The only person who could truly answer the question "Why doesn't he have clothes on?" would be Gerald Roach, the artist.<BR/><BR/>It's interesting that Anonymous puts "naked" in quotes. Is that because Paul's nakedness in the painting is just about as discreet as nakedness can be?<BR/><BR/>Here's my take on the subject. Paul's conversion took place at the height of his persecution of Christians. He had not received the gospel from the preaching of others, he had not been baptized: his acceptance of Christ was from this dramatic experience on the road to Damascus.<BR/><BR/>Is it possible that Roach (whose work does not characteristically include nudes) wants to depict the nakedness of Paul in the face of God's revelation? Might there even be baptismal imagery here? These are observations, not conclusions. Roach is not a religious man but I think the painting captures well the experience described by Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. Paul's world, religion and life were turned upside down, inside out in his conversion: perhaps he felt naked before God...<BR/><BR/>Having a difficult time getting past the image? Try an old cyber-ploy: scroll down!ConcordPastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18322127779647130869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808375493800890797.post-15560826396597181662008-06-26T22:01:00.000-04:002008-06-26T22:01:00.000-04:00Why doesn't he have clothes on???I could see if he...Why doesn't he have clothes on???<BR/>I could see if he was Adam? (As in "Adam & Eve".<BR/><BR/>I know you wrote a lot concerning this post, and I suppose a whole lot of us can't get past the image of the "naked" Paul on the horse.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808375493800890797.post-11618913335130031562008-06-26T10:30:00.000-04:002008-06-26T10:30:00.000-04:00Looking at the picture, all I can think is that he...Looking at the picture, all I can think is that he couldn't have been very comfortable riding like that!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com